


A Noble Type of Duty

by MaidenM



Series: Ferdibert Parenthood Adventures [2]
Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Art in Fic, Fluff and Humor, Kid Fic, M/M, Soft Hubert von Vestra, child oc
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-19
Updated: 2020-07-19
Packaged: 2021-03-05 05:02:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,710
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25378855
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MaidenM/pseuds/MaidenM
Summary: When the Prime Minister is away for a few days, Hubert is left alone with their daughter for the first time since becoming parents. Good thing he has all the Black Eagles at his side.
Relationships: Ferdinand von Aegir/Hubert von Vestra
Series: Ferdibert Parenthood Adventures [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1984063
Comments: 10
Kudos: 98





	A Noble Type of Duty

**Author's Note:**

> This... turned into a whole project. I hope you'll bear with my entirely indulgent little fic, silly as it is. Soft dads are my weakness. Thank you to everyone on twitter who endured my rambling as I worked on this.

“Are you sure you got everything you need?” Ferdinand asked as they reached the courtyard. It would have been fine, had it not been for the fifth time in less than twenty minutes. Hubert suppressed a sigh, patted his daughter’s head for courage and nodded firmly.

“I have everything, all the tools, all the toys, the chilled milk and the notes you left in case I forget anything,” he said flatly, cradling Alicia close to his chest as Ferdinand fidgeted before him. “It isn’t the first time I’m alone with her, Ferdinand. I will be fine and so will she.”

“I know! I know, it is just… I have never been away from her for more than an hour until now,” Ferdinand groaned as he stepped up to pepper their baby’s hair with kisses as if she would forget his existence once he left. Which, according to Linhardt, she actually might but it was just a thing babies did as far as Hubert understood and she would be happy the moment Ferdinand comes back. Alicia gurgled in Hubert’s arms, her tiny little body wriggling under the barrage of affection from her father. A bit away from them the carriage that was going to take Ferdinand to the countryside for a few days waited patiently.

“Alright, alright, just… humor me once more, will you? Do you really have everything?” Ferdinand asked once more as he took a step back. Hubert sighed deeply, but prepared himself for the questions he knew were coming.

“Yes, Ferdinand. I have everything she needs and more.”

“Are you absolutely certain? Are her clothes clean?”

“I sent them to be laundered last night.”

“And the milk bottles? Do you remember how to deactivate the chilling sigil?”

“Ferdinand, I wrote the sigils.”

“And her toys?”

“All accounted for, even the bath sponge shaped like a horse.”

“Are you sure you are not getting it mixed up with her toy horse, she can’t sleep without it!” At this Hubert hesitated.

“Why would I get them mixed up?”

“Because the horse is shaped like a sponge!” Ferdinand wailed and Hubert had to stop himself from rolling his eyes. Their quarters had been cluttered ever since they moved in together but since Alicia came into their lives their home looked like a pastel-and-primary-colours mess since Ferdinand’s most commonly used language of affection, compliments and praise, was ineffective on babies and so he turned to his second most used method. Gift giving.

“You spoil her too much, she’s not even old enough to understand what shape half her toys are,” Hubert muttered, though his lips turned upwards as he bounced the little one in his arms when she began to fuzz from her father’s outburst. “Please, Ferdinand. You've been climbing the walls out of restlessness, you said yourself that you miss working.”

“I do, I just…” Ferdinand hesitated, stepping forward again to hold her little hand and stroke her head. “I did not realise leaving would be so hard.”

Hubert huffed out a little laugh. There, at least, he could not fault his husband. As they became parents Hubert had been quick to leave meetings, arranged for the ability to do most of his work from his home office and had even requested that Lady Edelgard would lighten his workload to be with his… family. A very, very strange turn of events for him, but he had to admit that he could understand where Ferdinand’s feelings were coming from. And as the redhead had said, it was the first time he was going to leave his baby for more than a few hours. Several days, even.

“I promise you, with all that I am, we will both be perfectly fine. Lady Edelgard has relieved me of my duties in your absence, I have delegated my tasks and I have been clear that short of another war or a direct order from the Emperor I will not leave Alicia’s side. She also has several of her aunts and uncles here. Remember that any danger to her will have to go through not just me but Lady Edelgard, Caspar and possibly even Jeritza and Byleth as well.”

Ferdinand seemed to relax slightly as Hubert went on, nodding with a slightly concerned frown as he made each of his points. He paused for just a moment.

“Please don’t let Jeritza too close to my baby,” he asked, his eyes almost pleading.

“Darling, Jeritza is quite good with children,” Hubert reassured him, making Ferdinand mutter something about ‘trust’ and ‘Death Knight’ and possibly ‘kidnapping’. Eventually the redhead shook his head.

“I suppose there is no delaying the inevitable, is there?” he asked as he kissed his daughter’s head again before reaching up to kiss his husband. “Just… no, nevermind I know you know what to do, you do not need my reminders.”

“I can still listen, if you feel it will calm you down,” Hubert said with a crooked grin.

“Do not tease me so, you terrible man,” Ferdinand smiled. “Just take care of her. And do not forget to take care of yourself.” Another quick kiss was planted on Hubert’s lips. “I love you both.”

“We love you too,” Hubert smiled and as Ferdinand walked over to the carriage, turning for one last look of his family. Hubert held Alicia’s arm in his to help her wave. “Say goodbye to daddy,” he urged, half sarcastically as giving orders to babies still felt strange to him.

“Duh!” Alicia grunted as she flailed her arm, making Hubert freeze as Ferdinand joyfully waved back. He hoped the redhead hadn’t heard, or they’d spend at least five more minutes enduring his fawning excitement over one syllable.

***

Hubert had to admit, he had looked forward to having some alone-time with his daughter. The differences between him and Ferdinand were many, often remarked upon and their way of parenting was no exception. Ferdinand would sing to Alicia when she fuzzed. He would play with her toys and give them silly voices and elaborate personalities. Hubert found it especially silly whenever he would read a story to her and make the same funny voices, he wasn’t sure Alicia even understood what a “story” was much less a “secondary antagonist” even though Ferdinand insisted that such a role required a specific voice.

Still, there were points in which they were similar, though in this particular case Hubert was _slightly_ ashamed of it.

“Mmmph,” Alicia gurgled in his arms as he navigated the mess that had once been a semi-orderly home. He kicked a horse-looking stuffed toy out of the way, half thinking how no horse should ever be such a particular shade of yellow and how Ferdinand of all people ought to care about that as he made his way towards his own closet. With how Ferdinand’s job required a lot of public appearances and how both of them were well aware of how a person’s presentation mattered, they had resolved to keep their wardrobes separate. This worked well for Hubert, whose style was decidedly more monochrome and required much less space than the Prime Minister’s, but also allowed him to keep a few innocent secrets stashed away in his own space.

“Shh,” he hushed Alicia as she mumbled something that by no stretch of imagination could be seen as a word as he pulled out a large, flat box that had been hidden behind his clothes. “Daddy has a present for you,” he chuckled as her eyes seemed fixed on the large purple ribbon wrapped around the box.

Box in hand, he went over to a spot on the floor where he had prepared a soft blanket and a few toys, placed the box down and setting Alicia in the middle of the blanket before taking a seat himself. She gurgled, already crawling back to him and trying to take her rightful place in his lap.

“Easy, darling,” Hubert laughed as she tried to climb up with unsteady, chubby limbs as he pulled the elaborate ribbon off the box. Lifting the lid, he smiled unusually brightly at the contents. It would take some prodding, but he would admit that this gift was as much for himself as it was for his little girl.

A kock on the door interrupted him and for a brief moment he thought about throwing something over the box to hide it from prying eyes. When a familiar voice called out “It is me,” he decided against it with a relieved smile.

“Please come in, Lady Edelgard,” he said, pulling Alicia into his lap to sit properly for her Emperor.

Edelgard slipped in and closed the door behind her, a big smile on her face as she took in the scene before her. “Hello Hubert, I just came by to say hi to my new favourite,” she chuckled, quickly closing the distance between them to sit down on the floor. In any other circumstance Hubert would have thought about how unbecoming it was for his Lady to sit on the floor before him, but he’d allow it just this once. Edelgard cooed before him, reaching out to take Alicia’s tiny hand in hers. For a little while, Hubert just allowed himself to live in this moment with his two most loved girls before him.

“She is growing so well,” Edelgard laughed as she played with Alicia’s pudgy little legs, eliciting tiny giggles from the girl.

“She is. Ferdinand was so worried about her since she was so tiny when she was born, but Linhardt assures us that she is growing as she should,” Hubert said, a smile pulling at the corner of his lips.

“Only Ferdinand? I seem to recall you sobbing over how she fit in between the crook of your elbow and the palm of your hand.”

“I was sleep-deprived.”

“You’re always sleep-deprived, Hubert,” Edelgard laughed again before catching a glance of the half-opened box next to them. “What is this?”

Hubert’s hand shot out quickly, keeping the lid still where she had tried to nudge it away, “Don’t tell Ferdinand about this,” he urged.

Edelgard raised an eyebrow at him, a question and a challenge in her eyes. Slowly he took his hand away, allowing her to open the box properly. Daintily she pulled a thin paper aside to reveal the contents of the box.

“Oh Hubert, are these..?”

“Bernadetta asked me if she could help in any way, I may have… gotten too specific in my request. I only intended for her to have some nice clothes,” Hubert defended himself, a slight blush upon his cheeks. “Don’t tell Ferdinand, I teased him about his own pointless, superfluous gifts just before he left.”

“Well, I don’t see how he could possibly be upset about these!” Edelgard said as she held up a tiny dress that looked strikingly similar to Ferdinand’s old jacket from the war. “Oh how cute, they even got little capes sewn on!” Edelgard exclaimed as she picked up the second dress, which was styled to look quite like Hubert’s own uniform complete with a high-collared cape attached.

“I was just going to see if they’d fit her,” Hubert admitted as he took a moment to admire the stitching on the third outfit. That one was not his own idea, but he had given Bernadetta some free reign. The onesie was a simple black one with gold stitching much like their old school uniforms. Even though he had thought of the whole time at the academy as little more than a farce, he still smiled at the attention to detail along the patterns.

“Hubert, you realize she’ll probably outgrow them in about five minutes?”

“No time like the present then.”

“If you say so,” Edelgard chuckled. “Which one should she try on first? The Ferdinand dress, the Hubert dress, academy onesie or…” She hesitated as she pulled out the fourth and final little dress. “Hubert, is this a tiny Flame Emperor dress?” she asked, holding the item in question up for him to see. It came with delightful little sewn on accessories and a tiny cap designed to be similar to a helmet.

“Don’t tell Ferdinand,” he repeated.

“This one I could see him getting upset about,” Edelgard admitted with a mirthful chuckle. “Let’s have her try it on first then, it’ll be our little secret.”

“As you say, Lady Edelgard,” Hubert said and bowed as deeply as he could while seated.

“Ehl!” Alicia said as she crawled over to her aunt and Emperor. Edelgard chuckled, “That’s right, I’m your auntie El!” she said as she picked her up with a croon and started to pull at her dress to get her ready for her new clothes before she cast a glance towards Hubert. He had not gotten up from his bow yet.

“Hubert, are you alright?”

“I’m fine,” came a choked sound from the spymaster, who still did not straighten up.

Edelgard laughed. “I guess it’s just you and Auntie El, then. Right Alicia?”

***

Caring for a baby is relatively easy, Hubert though. They are tiny humans, and as humans are creatures of habit. They need sleep, food and entertainment, all of which should be provided regularly several times a day. For someone as meticulous and accustomed to managing a tight schedule as Hubert, it should be no problem to adhere to a strict routine.

The problem is; no one ever told babies this.

Normally Hubert had little issue going without sleep for long periods of time, but Alicia should have gone to sleep two hours ago and it was the longest two hours Hubert had ever gone without sleep in his life.

“Shh shh shh, easy, easy,” he tried as he bounced her gently in his arms, not expecting it to work any better now than the first fifteen times but he was also running out of options so he’d try and hope for a miracle. No miracle happened, just more wailing.

Alicia’s large eyes were wet with unshed tears and for the life of him Hubert could not figure out why. She wasn’t falling asleep, but he had fed her, bathed her, changed her into clean diapers - which he had checked about six times since - and played with her so what was there left to do?

He had a suspicion what the problem was but--

“Um, h-hello, Hubert? Are you there?” a timid voice called out as the door to his and Ferdinand’s quarters opened slightly. Normally he’d scold whoever it was for disturbing him but at the moment he had more pressing matters to attend to. “It’s just me, Bernie. I-I was passing by and I hear little Ali cry so I just wanted to check--” Bernadetta paused as she peeked into the room. “Oh Hubert you look terrible,” she gasped.

Hubert had no doubt he did. He had planned to take a nap while Alicia slept and now his hair was a mess from the few minutes he had been able to lie down, as well as the many times he’d run his hands through it in frustration and the uninterrupted crying did nothing to improve neither his mood nor the circles under his eyes. “You don’t say,” he growled. Bernadetta ‘eep’ed and hid behind the door.

“I-I’m sorry, of course you don’t want anyone disturbing you, Bernie you fool! I’ll just go away and not bother--”

“Bernadetta,” Hubert sighed before she could get too carried away by herself. “If you don’t mind, I could actually use some help,” he admitted as he waved her in.

Bernadetta perked up almost immediately, coming in and closing the door behind her with an eagerness in her step. Alicia’s wailing subsisted only slightly as Bernadetta took her hand and stroked her little fingers reassuringly.

“She’s not falling asleep and now she’s overtired,” Hubert explained. “I need you to search the palace for her favourite toy, it’s a horse toy she got from Ferdinand. She can’t sleep without it.”

“Uh, ok. W-why do I need to search the palace? Wouldn’t it be better to have her favourite toy here?”

“Of course it would!” Hubert sighed, making a calming gesture with his free hand when Bernadetta startled. “It’s just… I left the window open and…”

“Oh,” Bernadetta said, understanding in her eyes. “Jeritza’s cat?”

“Jeritza’s bloody cat.”

“Don’t swear in front of the baby!” she exclaimed, reaching up to cover the girl’s ears. “But I understand, I don’t think it is right to be mean to animals but I have half a mind to…” She took a calming breath. “It keeps getting into my room and stealing ribbons and stuff!”

“It stole Alicia’s toy!” Hubert shouted, causing Alicia’s wailing to pick up again. “I was just about to put her to bed when I saw the bast-- the ruffian,” he corrected with a slight roll to his eyes when Bernadetta’s hands once more came to cover his daughter’s ears, “standing in the window with the toy in its mouth! It ran away before I could grab it.”

Bernadetta gave a him a contemplative look. “I don’t think you are getting that toy back,” she said softly. “Once, it stole my pincushion. It was shaped like a hedgehog. When I got it back… well, let’s just say I wouldn’t use the remains even for scraps.”

“Then what am I supposed to do?” Hubert almost wailed.

“W-well, what does Ferdie do when she can’t sleep?”

“He sings to her, makes up little songs but I don’t think I can--”

“Try it! What do you have to lose?” Bernadetta urged, an unexpected fire in her eyes. Hubert hesitated, rocking his little girl rhythmically for a few moments.

“Little-- _Little Alicia, don’t you cry. Little Alicia, who is so--_ ”

Any efforts he would have been willing to give were crushed as Alicia wailed even louder at his crooning. Even Bernadetta winched at his tone-deaf attempt at a lullaby.

“Okay, I-I think you should leave the singing to Ferdie when he comes back,” she tried as she patted his arm reassuringly once Alicia’s cries had quieted down slightly. “Why don’t you try putting her down, I have an idea. Wait here!” she said before she turned and ran out of the room.

Hubert sighed, a little too deeply before he kissed Alicia’s head and brought her over to her bassinet. Gently, he laid her down.

“There, there,” he tried, winching at how trite it sounded. “I know, I’m sorry I lost your horse-sponge. I swear that cat will pay for it,” he promised, giving her his finger to squeeze as he gently rocked the bassinet. “Daddy Ferdinand isn’t here to sing for you, darling. He will be back soon though. And he’ll sing all your favourite songs.”

Alicia sobbed, a few gentle cries slipping out now and then as he stroked her hair and whispered promises to her. He promised her that Ferdinand would come home. That he himself would make sure she was safe. That whatever path she chose in life it would be hers and hers alone. Eventually, Bernadetta came back.

“I-I wasn’t really finished with this yet, had a few more details to add, but I made this with her in mind,” she stammered, clutching something to her chest. “Maybe i-it’s not as good as her favourite but perhaps it can help? Just a little?” She held out the gift, revealing it to be a stuffed toy shaped like…

“A… Morfis Flytrap?” Hubert asked. It was quite realistic, with its vines and teeth-like leaves lovingly crafted.

“Yes, um… do you think she’ll like it?” Bernadetta asked, lips drawn in a tight line. She didn’t wait for his reply before she laid the stuffed toy down by Alicia’s side.

“That is very sweet of you Bernadetta, but she has several toys already and none of them--” Hubert stopped himself as Alicia’s little arms wound their ways around the toy and hugged it tightly to her tiny frame. Blessed silence filled the room as her cries finally subsisted.

“Huh,” he breathed, awe and relief filling his chest.

“Oh, look at her,” Bernadetta whispered as Alicia’s eyes closed gently. “I’ll leave the two of you alone, I’m sure you need your rest too.”

“Thank you, Bernadetta,” he whispered back. Once the door closed with a soft click he quietly made his way to his bed. Before his head even his the pillow, both father and child were fast asleep.

***

“Stop fuzzing.”

“I thought you said she was a great patient?”

“I wasn’t talking about her.”

Hubert frowned and carefully folded his hands in his lap. So maybe he was fidgeting a little. Alicia however sat patiently on the table in front of Linhardt, making little noises once in a while as the healer made little taps to check her reflexes, pushed on her chin to check her mouth or even when he pulled at her ear to look for whatever it was doctors looked for in ears. Hubert was no physician. His trade was causing the trouble in bodies, not finding them and much less treating them.

“Well, everything looks fine. Almost makes me wonder why I bother really, I know full well that the moment she’s unwell you or Ferdinand will be breaking down my door at an ungodly hour in the morning,” Linhardt drawled as he patted the girl’s head. “At least if last week is any indicator.”

“Nine in the morning is not ‘ungodly’,” Hubert defended himself, resolutely _not_ fidgeting again.

“Uh-huh,” Linhardt deadpanned, “Neither is two in the morning I assume?”

“She was showing symptoms of disease.”

“She had the sniffles, Hubert.”

The two men stared at each other. There were few people who could defeat Hubert in a staring match but one thing Hubert found unsettling was how the lazy healer’s stare seemed to almost freeze in place when he put his mind to it. He coughed and looked away.

“Grown men have died of less,” he muttered.

“Right, but I assume you know this because you poisoned those men,” Linhardt said with a blank look as he took Alicia’s little hands in his. “Did you know that daddy kills people?” he asked, as seriously as he said most things. Hubert stood and scooped up his daughter.

“Just tell me she’s doing alright, she’s still so small,” Hubert groaned.

“She’s a baby, they generally come in one size. She’s fine, she’s growing well, her appetite is good, her sleeping issues aren’t noteworthy but if I find both of you collapsed somewhere I’m warning you; I’m only carrying _her_ this time,” Linhardt sighed.

Hubert bounced the little girl in his arms for a bit, a restlessness in his legs even as Alicia giggled happily.

“I’m just… a little worried,” he confessed. “Both Ferdinand and I have few memories of our mothers, and neither of our fathers were… particularly caring. Ferdinand had a good relationship with his wet nurse, but we’re not really sure how--”

“How a good parent looks like,” Linhardt finished for him. Hubert nodded. “Listen, I don’t have time to assuage all your repressed fears about parenthood that you’ve never had a reason to deal with until now but I will tell you this; babies are designed to survive first-time parents. Even disasters like you two.” As he spoke Linhardt began to put his tools into his bag, a hint of a smile pulling at the corner of his mouth. “The first step of fixing a problem is to be aware of it, which is where I come in. Ferdinand might be able to kill a man at twenty paces with a finely aimed javelin throw and you might just know more ways to dispose of a body than is healthy but _I_ know how to tell the difference between a normal rash and rubella. As much as I wish you wouldn’t bother me, I know I’m stuck with you guys for quite a while,” he sighed once more.

Hubert held Alicia a little closer, feeling her wriggle slightly in his arms as she tried to focus on whatever had caught her attention this time.

“Is there… any way of knowing if she has a crest at this time?” he asked hesitantly. He hoped she wouldn’t have one. He hoped that for all her life she would be judged for who she was, not for what people thought when they saw her or what powers rested dormant in her blood.

“There are some tests that can be made, but this early they are often unreliable. It would take a small blood sample but--”

“I won’t let some stranger puncture my child and take her blood,” Hubert said firmly, making Linhardt roll his eyes.

“Fine, but one day you’ll have to give me a proper reason why you’re so weird about that. Not that it bothers me, I’m just glad you’re not asking me to do it.” With a snap Linhardt closed his bag and stood up. “Now I suggest you both take a nap, at least that is what I am going to do,” he said with a yawn. “Are you sleeping well? You’re terrible under normal circumstances so I can’t imagine you’re getting your full eight hours now.”

“I’m sleeping enough,” Hubert muttered.

“And I’m the new Archbishop,” Linhardt quipped before he started to make his way to the door.

After Linhardt had left Hubert went over to the bedroom and rather than putting Alicia in her bassinet he laid down on his and Ferdinand's bed with her. Lying on his back, he gently allowed Alicia to lie on his chest, her tiny little head resting just above his heart. Ferdinand often did this, but he himself hadn’t really tried resting like this with her before. He stroked her head softly, feeling her relax in his arms bit by bit as he thought about what Linhardt had said. 

Had his father ever held him like this? Had the disgraced Duke ever looked at Ferdinand and promised to protect him? Pointless questions, and whatever the answer might be it wouldn’t matter in the slightest. They were not their fathers, and any mistakes they’d make would be their own. Their friends, their… family would help them pick up the pieces.

He closed his eyes, listened to his daughter’s quiet snores and drifted away with her.

***

“EAGLE!”

Hubert massaged his temple carefully and tried to remind himself that this was his idea and as such he had no ground to stand on in terms of complaints. It was not in his nature to ignore his work for too long, and while he recognized that taking care of Alicia was no vacation and was indeed important work in its own right he did miss his normal workload. After promising both himself and Edelgard that he would only do some light paperwork and that he would do it from the comfort of his own quarters, not his office, he had asked Caspar if he wanted to assist him by babysitting for an hour or two. The younger man had readily agreed and, to Hubert’s horror, had turned out to be an enthusiastic sitter.

“WooOOoooooshhhhh!” Caspar blew out air to mimic what - by some stretch of imagination - an eagle might sound like as it swooped down upon its prey. Only, it was no eagle but a giggling child rushing by in Caspar’s outstretched arms. 

It had been going on for well over an hour. Apparently he was dealing with _two_ children, and he forgot how the larger one still had an endless supply of energy.

“Caspar, maybe you should switch to something qui-- _watch her head you imbecile!_ ”

“I got her! I got her!” Caspar laughed, coming up to stand straight after swinging Alicia like a pendulum - and possibly shaving five years off Hubert’s lifespan. “My cousin used to love this when she was her age,” he laughed. Hubert sat at the edge off his chair, half poised to leap across the room and save his daughter. He noted with a small level of relief that Caspar’s hand was cradling Alicia’s head and the girl was still laughing heartily.

“Did none of your cousins enjoy anything calmer, like sitting quietly while their father worked?” he muttered. He wondered if either he _or_ Ferdinand had ever made her laugh so much in one afternoon…

A brief look of confusion flashed across Caspar’s earnest face. “I mean, that doesn’t sound very-- _Oh!_ Oh, yeah, of course we can do something else for a bit!” he laughed, not a hint of shame on his face as he realized what Hubert meant. “Actually, I brought a few things with me, you can keep them if she likes them,” he said as he sat Alicia down on her playmat.

“Caspar, believe me when I say this; she has enough toys,” Hubert groaned as Caspar riffled through his pockets for something. “When she’s grown a bit more I fully expect us to be able to open up a museum of contemporary infant entertainment.”

“S’ not really toys, they’re more like… Aha! Here!” Proudly, Caspar held up a small stack of thick cards with rather simplistic pictures on them.

“... and what are those supposed to do?” Hubert asked tentatively. Caspar grinned at him.

“Don’t you worry about that, you can get back to work! I promise we’ll be much less loud!”

Hubert ‘humph’ed and decided that the small promise of “less loud” was good enough. He only had a few more documents to look over, a few reports he wanted to look at himself and a couple of letters that may or may not contain some sort of code that his subordinate couldn’t find and/or crack. It wouldn’t take too long, he did promise not to work for too long and--

“Horse,” he heard Caspar say.

“What?”

“Not you, keep working! Horse,” he repeated.

Hubert frowned, but shrugged after a moment. The documents were of little interest, maybe he should have specified that he wanted something more interesting - although that might have backfired since he wasn’t _supposed_ to work and too much eagerness--

“Goat.” Hubert frowned again as he heard a small shuffle. The reports were more interesting. His agents were scoping out an area in Fhirdiad that may have been used by Cornelia during--

“Duck.”

“What the hell are you do-- you don’t need to cover her ears everytime I say a rude word!” Hubert sighed at the sight of Caspar’s scandalized face as his large hands covered much more than just Alicia’s ears. “What,” he repeated slowly, “are you doing?”

Caspar sheepishly held up the cards for Hubert to see. There where indeed pictures of a horse, a goat and a duck among them. “I’m told that at this age kids pick up words really well, so I got her these cards. You show the picture and say the word, and little by little she’ll learn to connect the two,” he explained. “According to Linhardt at least,” he added with a mumble.

Hubert stared. That was such a simple, almost silly idea. It was almost--

“Duh!” Alicia uttered, pointing at the cards. Caspar beamed, as brightly as a bonfire.

“That’s right! ‘Duck’! See, it works!” he laughed, making Hubert winche.

“‘Duck’ has a 'k' in it,” he mumbled as he turned back to his work. He tuned out the sound of Caspar’s excitable encouragement and Alicia’s gurgling sounds, once more trying to focus on the papers before him. If they had truly uncovered one of the bases of Those Who Slither In The Dark then the things they could learn where almost mind-boggling and anyway it is a silly idea that a child can learn animals just from looking at pictures, that's something she should learn in person, with her father not her babysitt--

His hand paused where his finger had followed his agent’s code.

“Rooster,” Caspar said gently. “Ooo,” Alicia bubbled.

“Caspar,” Hubert said slowly as he lined up his papers neatly and set them to the side.

“Yes Hubert?”

“Show me again how the cards work,” he said as he walked over to sit down next to his daughter. Caspar beamed, holding the cards up clearly once more.

“Sure thing! It is easy, really, you just need to be clear and say the name of the thing on the card!”

“I gathered as much,” Hubert huffed, though not as unkindly as he had aimed for, as he pulled Alicia into his lap. “Show me. Us.” Caspar nodded and shuffled the cards again.

“Lamb,” he said. Another shuffle. “Campfire.”

“Isn’t that a bit too hard for her level?” Hubert asked, but Caspar just shrugged.

“Warhorse,” Caspar said slowly as he held up the next card.

“Wait, who made these cards?” Hubert asked as Caspar shuffled again.

“I did! Battleaxe.”

“Bah!”

“I think we’re done for today, Caspar.”

***

After a stressful day Hubert always liked it when he had the opportunity to get clean. A cleansing bath did wonders for both the body and the mind, and as his job needed both of those to be in prime condition it was a habit he resolved to fulfill for himself as often as he could as well as something he wished to instill in his daughter from an early age. The little yellow duck toy was something that would be phased out eventually.

Alicia seemed fascinated by the bubbles in her bath as Hubert scooped up handfuls of water to wash over her shoulders. The little tub glittered with suds in the evening sun as the light filtered through the window, creating a atmosphere even Hubert had to admit made the world soft around the edges as everything narrowed down just him, his daughter and their guest.

“When she is grown, she has to visit me in Brigid,” Petra sighed happily as she splashed the water gently. “She will learn to swim in the blue waters of the sea and will race across the sands with us.”

Hubert sat still, clutching the horse-shaped sponge a little too hard. “That’s… that sounds great.”

“Do you not like to swim, Hubert?”

“No, I do like to swim. Just… are there sharks in Brigid waters?” Petra laughed.

“My friend, she is in greater danger here than in the waters of Brigid. Even with the sharks.”

“So they exist there?” Hubert asked with his lips drawn into a tight line. “Tell me, how does one… fight sharks?”

Petra chuckled and brought her fingers to Alicia’s face, gently cleaning her around her eyes and nose. “They rarely attack us, I will teach her to be careful.”

“‘Rarely’? I would feel calmer if I knew how to fight one,” Hubert shuddered. He had never seen a shark before, but Petra had long ago shown him a shark tooth and told him how many they had and how they grew out if they lost them and he had quickly decided that there was no shame in being wary of the ocean after that. Getting nervous with all this wetness, he reached for a fluffy towel and scooped up the little girl from the tub. “That being said, I do agree with you. She should have the opportunity to see Brigid with her own eyes.”

“I am sure she will love being there,” Petra smiled as she grabbed a corner of the towel and started to dry Alicia’s little feet. “I hope she will be able to visit before my grandfather becomes too weak. I read Ferdinand’s letters to him sometimes, he has heard much about all of you.”

“Oh? How is he faring?”

“He is well, for his age,” Petra spoke softly. “But he is getting slower, his strides heavier. I cherish the time I spend with him.”

Hubert quietly dried the squirming baby, not really knowing what to say. Gently, he pulled the girl up so that her feet barely touched the ground. “Then we shall have to visit soon,” he settled for.

“Yes. I would like for him to meet my dearest friends,” Petra nodded as she helped dry the girl's legs. For a while, they sat quietly with the bubbling child between them. Once she was dried and dressed, Petra stood up. “I actually have something from him, to baby Alicia. It is a very special gift.”

Hubert’s eyebrows shot up. “A gift from the former king of Brigid? For her?”

“Yes, I was surprised as well. He wishes for the gift to symbolize our equality, both between countries and as my personal friends,” Petra explained as she rummaged through a bag to produce an elegant oblong case. “It will be yours for safekeeping, you and Ferdinand, and when she comes of age it will be truly hers.” Carefully, she sat back down and placed the case between them. With a small flourish she opened it, revealing a beautiful knife within.

“It is a skinning knife. When she is old enough, she will make her first kill. Then she will use this knife to skin the beast. It is a rite of passage in Brigid, we give our children knives like this to symbolize our hope for them to grow up strong.”

Hubert carefully picked up the knife with one hand, keeping Alicia at a safe distance with the other. The knife was nothing short of a work of art, the handle inlaid with mother-of-pearl and intricate designs common to Brigid weapons.

“My grandfather made it himself,” Petra added, making Hubert’s eyes widen in surprise.

“I must say, it is a fantastic blade,” he said carefully. “What if she decides not to become a hunter?”

“Then it will just be a gift of hope for her future to be bountiful,” Petra promised. “I am sure my grandfather will understand.”

Carefully, Hubert placed the knife back into its case. “Thank you,” he said, bowing as much as he could while sitting with a baby in his lap. “I will make sure she cherishes it when she’s older.”

“And I thank you,” Petra said as she put the lid back on. “And I hope she’ll be able to thank my grandfather herself one day.”

***

“Be honest with me here. Part of you is counting down the hours until Ferdinand is coming back, aren’t you?” Dorothea asked with a wicked grin. Hubert’s lower eyelid twitched slightly.

“I am not,” he lied.

It was surprising, how everything could go so well and then suddenly it was _his_ turn to be unable to sleep. Alicia had slept like, well, like a baby all according to schedule but for some unholy reason he had not been able to take advantage of those convenient nap times for the last 24 hours.

Hence his cry for help to the one person he actually did not mind appearing weak to. Mainly because she could not care less about bravado, but also because her mere personality made him feel like she saw right through him anyway, leaving him with nothing to prove.

“Maybe you should switch to decaf,” she teased, cradling a tired Alicia in her arms while nodding to the several coffee cups left on his desk.

“I was getting tired when she was decidedly not,” he defended himself. Dorothea just laughed at him.

“You go to bed, I can handle her for a few hours. I won’t even tell Ferdinand you begged for my assistance.”

Gratefully, Hubert nodded and stepped closer to kiss his daughter good-night. Without another word he went into the bedroom, leaving the door open just a smidge in case Dorothea needed something and fell into bed without even undressing first.

Predictably, he still couldn’t sleep.

He resolved to stay still, reasoning that if he couldn’t sleep he could at least rest for a while. Insomnia was no new phenomena to him, his head often swimming with all sorts of plans, backup plans, worries and concerns. It was common for him, normal even.

Although, his concerns used to deal with Lady Edelgard, the war efforts, skinwalkers and later on Ferdinand. He wasn’t quite used to worrying about whether he had baby-proofed their quarters properly and things along those lines. From the other room Dorothea’s voice was low and muffled, but still audible.

“Look at all these toys, Ferdie has learned many things but he still needs to learn some restraint now and then, doesn’t he?” he heard her speak, a smile tugging at his lips as he listened. “I have so many stories about your dads, you know that? I will tell you all of them eventually. Your daddy is still my busy little bee, always flitting from place to place…”

Closing his eyes, Hubert allowed his mind to drift to the background of Dorothea’s melodic voice. Briefly he thought about how he never thought he’d reach the point where he trusted anyone other than Lady Edelgard enough to allow them to watch his child while he slept, but then again he never thought he’d trust someone enough to have a child with them either.

“... and then he told me ‘no, I made these!’, back then I could barely believe my ears. He has grown so much since then, you know. Your daddy works so hard, but if you ever need him to be knocked down a peg or two, you come to auntie Thea. That goes for daddy Hubie too.”

Time passed, and Hubert could feel his eyelids becoming heavier. Once in a while he couldn’t make out what Dorothea was saying anymore, his awareness resurfacing briefly before the words became hard to make out once again.

“... it was quite a sight to watch your daddies dance around each other. Ferdie would glance at Hubie whenever he thought he wasn’t looking, and Hubie would make any excuse to spend just a little longer with him…”

“... daddy Ferdinand was truly important to all of us during the war, people look at him and they just feel stronger…”

“... Hubie will never admit this out loud but he picked flowers for Ferdie every day he was in the infirmary…”

“... I don’t know where we’d be without them…”

“...They love you so much…”

As he balanced just at the precipice of consciousness a melody came to his ears. It was not one he recognized, but Dorothea’s humming was practiced and clear as if she had known it all her life. He breathed heavily, his sheets still carrying some of Ferdinand's scent bringing him a sense of calmness he craved. As his mind faded he felt like he could just about make out the words.

_Oh little sunbeam, oh love of mine_

_Light through my window, with gentle shine_

_I wish to see you grow big and kind,_

_and wise and dreaming and strong of mind_

And with little fanfare, Hubert fell asleep.

***

The people called them the “Two Jewels of the Empire”. It was quite the title, and while Ferdinand embraced it with gusto, and Hubert admittedly embraced it with more muted enthusiasm, they were not the only power-couple of Adrestia. A fact he was horribly reminded of as he sat in the gardens, enjoying some time in the sunshine with Alicia as the much less well known but more intimidating duo approached him with two blank faces.

“You,” he said with half a growl, “I am told there is more than one way to flay a cat and I have half a mind to test that theory.”

Jeritza had the decency to look apologetic. “I’m sure Scruffy is sorry for what he did,” he said calmly.

“Scruffy is not sorry. Scruffy is made of one part spite and one part void!” Hubert spat. He took a moment to calm down, shook his head and picked his daughter up. “I had a very annoying time because of you,” he mumbled.

“We’re sorry,” Byleth said, with little inflection in their voice. After the fall of the Archbishop everyone had though their old teacher would become more expressive as whatever spell had kept their heart in stasis shattered. To some extent they had, but it also turned out they were just… naturally muted. “I wanted to ask you if this was yours,” they said as they brought up their old, ratty bag and started to rummage through it. Hubert sighed and prepared himself for what was to come.

“is this yours?” they asked and held up a thesaurus. Hubert shook his head.

“I have not lost any books of any kind lately,” he sighed. Back into the bag the book went.

“Is this yours?” This time it was a small notebook.

“Still a book, like I said I have not lost any books.”

“Is this yours?” A fine ribbon.

“That looks like Lady Edelgard’s, you should ask her. And where did you find it anywa--”

“Is this yours?” This time Byleth pulled out a broken hatchet from the bag.

“How did that even fit? And why would someone want a broken weapon back, send it to the smithy to be repurposed!”

Byleth shrugged, putting the hatchet back and rummaging around a little bit more.

“I couldn’t figure out what this is, but is this yours? I think it is some sort of sponge.” That, at least, Hubert recognized clearly.

“It’s a horse!” he barked, “...shaped like a sponge.” He grabbed it, making sure to glare a little extra at Jeritza who just stood quietly by Byleth’s side and then…

… then immediately regretted it as _something_ seeped through his gloves.

“What,” he asked slowly without breaking eye contact, “did the damn cat do to it?”

“We don’t know,” said Byleth.

“You might want to throw those gloves away,” Jeritza added.

“Hoo!” Alicia called out, reaching for the slimy horse-sponge with a big grin on her face.

Without a word, Hubert held up the ruined toy and set it aflame.

***

In the palace there were many works of art. The architecture itself was arguably art in and by itself. Such was the nature of the world that had thrived upon separating the people into the haves and have nots, using art as a defining feature of those who had.

One hallway in particular was a source of some debate between Edelgard and Ferdinand. There, painting after painting showed the former Emperors of Adrestia and their court. Long dead men and women looked down from the walls upon any who walked past, their likeness immortalized and as such they themselves eternal as well. Edelgard found it distasteful, to be looked upon by tyrants long gone. Ferdinand found it important, both to remember the wrongs of the past and to preserve the few examples of art from times gone by. For now, the paintings remained in the hallway, but discussions of a suitable place to display them in a museum - along with the information of who the people were and why it was important to remember them - were a frequent topic of discussion between the Emperor and her Prime Minister.

Until then, Hubert would make do.

“And this is Ionus V, whose crimes include theft by taxation, bribery both made and accepted, fraud and incenting violence among the people…”

Alicia cooed in his arms as he walked past each painting, listing every crime he had been able to document for each regent. There were many, and he would be sure to do this again when she was older, to make sure she understood.

It got a little harder the closer he got to the more recent paintings, however.

Edelgard did not wish for her father’s portrait to be associated with the corrupt Emperors. It was rare for Edelgard and Ferdinand to truly clash with each other, but Ferdinand made a compelling argument about how they had no right to condemn the transgressions of the past while excusing the behaviour of the recent events, as it would mean they made themselves arbiters of when the very corruption they fought to erode was damnable and when it was acceptable.

It had been clear during their argument that after a while they were not discussing Edelgard’s father anymore.

Hubert and Ferdinand had slept in separate beds that night.

Still, he went through painting after painting, deciding that to be fair he included the virtues he knew of when he could rather than just their sins. He couldn’t bring himself to say anything terrible about the painting of Lady Edelgard, however.

“And this…” he said softly as he arrived at the last and most recent painting. “Do you see who that is?” he asked as he looked at Alicia to see if she made any reaction. At the sight of the painting the little girl’s face lit up.

“Dah!” she laughed and pointed at the painting.

“That’s right, it’s your daddy!” Hubert laughed with her, his eyes falling upon the canvas with nothing but fondness in them. It was a beautiful portrait, and Edelgard had been adamant that it was to be presented alongside hers. She may be the Emperor, but all of Adestria recognized the Prime Minister’s efforts and she was no exception. “Now, your daddy…” he began, not really sure where to start. “Your daddy has blood on his hands,” he began softly. “We all do. There was no avoiding it. But your daddy…” he sighed, taking a moment to draw strength from the orange hues upon the canvas. “Your daddy has a heart stronger than most. While Lady Edelgard and I hardened our hearts to be able to walk our crimson path, your daddy exposed his for the world. I used to think him soft and weak. I did not realize that someone who bears themselves like that needs to weather every blow that lands upon them just as we did. And he did, by our side even though I never expected him to.

“Don’t tell anyone I said this but sometimes I think your daddy is the strongest man I know. Every day he strives to be better. He is never complacent. And he never will be. Until the day he dies he will fight to make the world a little bit better than it was when he woke up that morning. And every day I struggle to tell him how much I love him, and how lost I would be without him…”

“Dah…” Alicia cooed again, but this time her little hand reached out to touch Hubert’s cheek. He chuckled, playfully swatting it away and pulling her closer to him to rest his head against hers.

“He will come home tonight, have you missed him?” he asked. Alicia gurgled, once more pointing towards the painting. Hubert laughed as he hugged her even closer. “Yes, I have missed him too…”

***

It was late in the evening. The sun had set and a waning moon was gracing the night with her presence. Ferdinand would arrive home at any minute now, hopefully with enough energy for a midnight meal with his husband. Hubert sat in their parlor, Alicia slowly nodding off in his lap as he awaited his beloved’s return. Gently he stroked her hair, patted her calmly down her back and watched as her eyes grew lidded and heavy. Once in a while he opened the palm of his other hand and allowed a small purple flame to dance within it. Each time he did, tired eyes grew wide and a daring little hand reached out to touch before he extinguished the fire with a wave of his fingers. Every time he did, her movements grew more sluggish, until her head lay heavy on his belly and purple lights flickered in her barely-open eyes.

Not many people reacted like this to dark magic. Most had an almost instinctive response, shying away from the powerful, corrosive force by some primal urge. Pride swelled in his chest, as just as he had been told he did when he was a child his daughter stared directly into that danger and saw something elusive and beautiful within it. She fell asleep to the warmth of forbidden knowledge and a light that would illuminate her path no matter where she took it.

The sound of horseshoes upon cobblestone could be heard from the window and Hubert smiled to himself. Carefully he transferred Alicia to her bed before looking in a mirror to make sure he looked presentable.

Ferdinand was home. The family was gathered once again.


End file.
